Ten Questions to Ask Your Pastor, Reverend, Minister, or Priest
From Sedition.com: 1. Biblical Law. Matthew 5:17-18 says quite clearly that Jesus demands Christians follow Old Testament law completely, to the smallest possible point. Why don’t they?
2. Infanticide. The modern Christian churches of the world tend to gloss the fact that God is a child killer—the 10th plague in Egypt—and say that Jesus set this right. Ignoring for a moment that the crucifixion is just one more child killing to fulfill God’s will, why does Jesus say he also will kill children in Revelation 2:23?
3. Fact or Allegory. The Bible says the Earth is between 6,000 and 8,000 years old, that it was created in 7 days, and that Man is made of dirt and Woman a piece of Man. Most churches today say that this is allegory. What passages of the Bible support it all being just allegory?
4. Needle’s Eye. Jesus said rich men don’t go to Heaven easily and even implied that it wasn’t possible. Why are so many people with money and property Christian if they are probably going to Hell?
5. Apocrypha and Biblical Revisions. The Bible of 400 CE and the Bible today differ by dozens of chapters and thousands of parts. Which Bible is the word of God and why does man edit it?
6. Born Fallen. Even in this global age there are millions of persons who never hear the Good News. We are born in sin. Do some go to Hell just because of their birth circumstances?
7. Graven Images. Isn’t wearing the cross and making statues and movies of the life of the Christ a violation of the 2nd Commandment? “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…”
8. Inquisitions, Crusades, Witch Trials. Historians put the number of those killed and executed by Christian churches at between 2 and 15 million; mostly Jews, witches/pagans, and Muslims. Do Christians retain this murderous nature? If not, why not?
9. Turn the other Cheek. Jesus instructs the saved to love and to forgive even deadly insults (Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” et cetera). Why do no prominent Christian leaders to follow this?
10. Free will. Freedom to choose is given to man by God. Man has two main choices: 1) accept the Love of God and, upon death, go to paradise for eternity, 2) Refuse God and, upon death, just die, be utterly damned. How is that freedom of choice when it is the same thing as a gun to your head?
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2. Infanticide. The modern Christian churches of the world tend to gloss the fact that God is a child killer—the 10th plague in Egypt—and say that Jesus set this right. Ignoring for a moment that the crucifixion is just one more child killing to fulfill God’s will, why does Jesus say he also will kill children in Revelation 2:23?
3. Fact or Allegory. The Bible says the Earth is between 6,000 and 8,000 years old, that it was created in 7 days, and that Man is made of dirt and Woman a piece of Man. Most churches today say that this is allegory. What passages of the Bible support it all being just allegory?
4. Needle’s Eye. Jesus said rich men don’t go to Heaven easily and even implied that it wasn’t possible. Why are so many people with money and property Christian if they are probably going to Hell?
5. Apocrypha and Biblical Revisions. The Bible of 400 CE and the Bible today differ by dozens of chapters and thousands of parts. Which Bible is the word of God and why does man edit it?
6. Born Fallen. Even in this global age there are millions of persons who never hear the Good News. We are born in sin. Do some go to Hell just because of their birth circumstances?
7. Graven Images. Isn’t wearing the cross and making statues and movies of the life of the Christ a violation of the 2nd Commandment? “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…”
8. Inquisitions, Crusades, Witch Trials. Historians put the number of those killed and executed by Christian churches at between 2 and 15 million; mostly Jews, witches/pagans, and Muslims. Do Christians retain this murderous nature? If not, why not?
9. Turn the other Cheek. Jesus instructs the saved to love and to forgive even deadly insults (Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” et cetera). Why do no prominent Christian leaders to follow this?
10. Free will. Freedom to choose is given to man by God. Man has two main choices: 1) accept the Love of God and, upon death, go to paradise for eternity, 2) Refuse God and, upon death, just die, be utterly damned. How is that freedom of choice when it is the same thing as a gun to your head?
[What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]
posted by Father Dan | 10:57 AM
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1 Comments:
Take a deep breath, this is a long post but take your time.
#1. With regards to the reference to the Law in Matthew 5:17-18, What Jesus is talking about is this... because He has come and would be the atonement for the sins of every person (if they would repent and put their faith and trust in Him alone to save them from the consequences of sin which is hell).. that still doesn't mean that we get to throw out Law and thereby become "lawless". If you read a short ways further in this portion of scripture the Law that Jesus is referring to is the Moral Law of God, otherwise known as the 10 commandments. Jesus actually "raised the bar" for the standard of the Commandments, He actually amplified it(ex. vs 20-22, & vs 27-29... but for what purpose? It was to literally show us that we 100% have not kept the Law, therefore because we are lawbreakers we need Salvation through Him, from the wrath of God that abides on those that have transgressed Gods law (see 1John 3:4 "sin is transgression of the law."). Our civil law is very much the same. If a good judge (uncorrupted) has a guilty criminal standing before him, he will make sure the law takes its course and punishment will be forthcoming. So the truth of the matter is is that Jesus isn't just speaking of just Christians breaking the Law, but he is speaking to every single individual on the face of the planet,(see Romans 3:19) since this law leaves the whole world guilty, and thats what its designed to do because(see next verse Romans 3:20) "by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight". We can't be good enough because at some point we've already broken the law, therefore we are already guilty before God. This may help.."This is "Law to the Proud heart, and Grace to the Humble heart."
If you would like to see a great example of the use of Gods Law go to www.needgod.com . This will help in understanding most of what Ive said so far.
#2. This question is one that seems to throw many people because it would seem like you cannot reconcile the fact that God would kill people, and at the same time be a Righteous "being". A common statement which is tossed around by many "Atheists" is that "if God would kill people then He is morally bankrupt, because I wouldn't kill people if I were God". Thats a dangerous statement because "IF" God is real then you just judged Him even though you personally are found guilty before Him for the sins that you have commited(again check out www.needgod.com for an example). Clearly none of us is able to claim moral perfection. However I can understand this topic coming up when questioning Gods goodness. First we have to understand that every last one of us (thats me too) deserves death and hell for having sinned. "The wages of sin is death.."(Romans 6:23). The very fact that I get to type these words out, and that you get to read them is a testimony of His incredible mercy. He has spared you and I even though we deliberately rebelled against Him with our sin. You have to realize that if at any moment God were to take your life or mine He would be right to do so, its called justice. We are sooo indebted to His Law that whether it be today, tomorrow or 60 years from now... we will at some point die and face Him to give an account of what we have done, and our conscience will stand next to us as an unbiased witness to accuse or aquit us.
This example in Egypt that you mentioned in question #2 is a perfect example of how God was glorified, which is the whole purpose of creation. "How?". God told the Isrealites to kill a lamb that was without blemish and put some of its blood over the doorways of their homes so that this spirit of Death would pass over them (which is why there is a Passover celebration). Gods punishment was falling on Egypt and He still provided a way that if they would humble themselves and take the warning of the Prophet Moses then their firstborn sons would be spared. Realize that if the Isrealites, themselves, didn't listen even their sons would die under this punishment as well. So those homes that were marked with the blood of the lamb were shown mercy. This is precisely what Jesus Christ did for you and I. At any moment we could be snatched into Eternity, but through the shed blood of Jesus (the spotless lamb) we are able to pass from death to life if we would but humble ourselves and repent(confess and forsake) of our sin and trust in Him to save us. So the glory and honour goes to God.
Gods goodness is reflected in the fulfillment of justice for everyone that sins. He is a perfect judge. He doesn't want anyone to perish, but by His nature He must punish sin wherever it is found. Sometimes we see the result of sin here on earth, just look around for a minute, but sometimes people wont turn from sin and it will be too late when they stand before God. I pray that that is not you dear reader. Your soul is worth more than all the wealth of the world because you can't take anything but your soul with you when you die. So instead of asking "Why God did you kill people as seen in the Bible?" we need to ask "Why God didn't you kill me when I first transgressed your Law?". Ive heard it said, "The tormented soul in Hell is no longer the unbelieving fool that he was on earth"...Don't let that be you. I plead with you to do your research, do your homework thoroughly, you owe it to your good sense and God-given will to live to examine the claims of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of prophecy throughout scripture.
#3. An Allegory is a Fable or colourful story for the imagination, so if you actually hear "Christians" saying that the Creation account of man and woman etc. is allegorical, then I would seriously question whether or not they are truely Christian. You're correct, there are no biblical passages that would support the claim that it is an allegory.
#4. Good question. Always remember that when looking at scripture you need to look at the context in which it is being spoken, thats really a "given" for any literature. The scripture is Matthew 19:24-25. (vs 24.) And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (vs 25.) When his disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? I would recommend reading all of the surrounding verses for the context. Beginning at vs 16 of this passage Jesus speaks to a rich young man who asks him "Good master what must I do to inherit eternal life?". So Jesus pointed this young man to the 10 commandments, and gave him 5 of them, to which the young man replied "Ive kept these since my youth". Notice what Jesus does next.. He says "One thing you lack, go and sell all that you have, give the money to the poor and come follow me.", and the Bible says that the young man went away sad because he had many great posessions. So what Jesus did was simply show this man that his "god" was his money, and you cannot serve God and money(which is breaking the essence of the 1st and 2nd commandments) #1 "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me". #2 "You shall not make for yourself any graven image". So its rediculous to think that simply having wealth means that you go to hell. However its impossible for a rich man to have a god of money and still try to follow Jesus Christ. His idolatry is an insult to God, and he has not placed God first in his affections. We are all guilty of doing this. If we put God 2nd in our lives, whether it be for money, status, possessions, friends, or family then we have transgressed the 1st commandment, and who has never done that?? I certainly have done that. The bible says that none of us has kept the 1st commandment. God has allowed Christians and non-Christians, alike, to have material wealth, but Jesus brings the focus back to the order of our affections.
#5. This too is an excellent question. If you are referring to modern translations that take liberty at paraphrasing the Bible, then I have a strong sense of caution towards those particular "Bibles", so we should obviously not absorb every so called translation that comes out. However the actual Bible texts havent been rewritten over and over and over again so that the original meaning has been lost over time. For example look at the New Testament. The disciples of Jesus Christ wrote the books in the New Testament, which by the way were written in greek. There are around 24,000 manuscripts of these texts that are copies of the original writings, written very close to the time of the originals. The amazing thing is that nearly 100% of these texts agree with each other perfectly. This is a statistical monstrosity. These texts were being circulated well within 100 years of the time of Christ. The Bible that we have today is translated directly from its original language, which eliminates the danger of cross cultural translations which would obviously produce large variations in the texts when compared. And with closer examination we find that the differences found in the texts are limited to spelling error and slight word alteration. For example: saying "the Christ" rather than "Jesus Christ", or saying "plank in your eye" instead of "log in your eye" etc. So the variation is very low, which leaves us with a very much reliable compilation of the originals.(also see www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/Biblestandsalone.shtml)
As for the Apocrypha, it was not accepted as cannon of scripture due to several different reasons varying from blatant contradictions of established scripture(old testament), the fact that it was never part of the cannon of the Old Testament, a lack of historical accuracy, and even the devaluation of Jesus Christ by adding works to salvation, rather than a result of salvation.
#6. We are indeed, by nature, sinful beings. No one will go to hell because of where they were born, or because they didn't hear about Jesus. People will go to hell because they have transgressed Gods law, which is written on the heart of everyone. Its called the conscience. Conscience: con=with, science=knowledge. Everytime that we sin we do so "with-knowledge" that its wrong. Take for example the fact that everyone has told lies before, which makes us a liar. Your conscience spoke very loudly the first time you lied when you were younger and your parents chuckled because they could read the guilt on your face. Anyone else out there like me? :) We can try to silence our conscience by trying to justify ourselves, and of course by repetition. Ever met a habitual liar? Its very difficult to trust such a person because they can't seem to stop or care that they are lying to you. Their conscience is seared. So.. sin is transgression of the law (1John 3:4) and that is why people will go to hell. This also emphasizes a genuine need for Christians to regularly share their faith in Jesus Christ. If Christians indeed believe that people are going to Hell then they will seek to do something about it. Honestly if a "Christian" has no concern for such people then he is a blatant hypocrite who claims to know the "love of Christ" but doesn't care enough to share it ... and the Bible says that no hypocrite will enter Gods Kingdom. Fear is a very real thing when presenting ones own faith, since it opens you up for a stinging rejection, but for a professing Christian its a MORAL responsibility to do this, and to overcome their fear.
#7. The 2nd commandment, like you said, is "You shall not make for yourself any graven image". This is called idolatry. So what this means is you shall not make a "god" either with your hands or with your mind. Your mind is included in this because the fertile ground of your imagination can easily produce a god of your own making. For example, if I believe in a god that is nothing but love and mercy, and all the things I like, then I have created a god to suit myself...which means I just broke the 2nd commandment. If you were to hear someone say "My god would never send someone to Hell because he is all loving and all merciful, and all forgiving", well I would have to say that they are correct.... their god wouldn't send anyone to Hell because he couldn't, he doesn't exist and is a figment of their imagination. This person would have an idolatrous inderstanding of the true nature of God. Its when we realize that we are lawbreakers and that the wrath of God abides on us due to our sins, that we are able to appreciate and recognize the mercy that God has extended to us... otherwise it doesn't make any sense to tell someone that 2000 years ago Jesus Christ died for your sins. Why would someone do that for me 2000 years ago? The Bible says that "the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing, but for those who are being saved it is the power of God" (1Corinthians 1:18). And it true that it doesn't make sense that someone would seek to be "saved" unless they see the danger that they are in. To the thinking mind its just logical to expect that someone would try to step out of the way of danger if they saw it coming towards them.
So, wearing a cross, or seeing a statue, or picture, or a film of Jesus isn't of itself idolatrous, but if those things become objects of your affections, or perhaps depict Jesus differently than which is found in the Bible, then I would certainly stay away from it. Some people have pictures of Jesus or statues in their homes or churches but no one actually knows what he really looked like, since they didn't capture his portrait 2000 years ago. I personally have had a picture of what Jesus may have looked like, and its not a sin to have one, don't get me wrong, but if someone ends up praying to a statue, or to a picture or honouring that "image" more than God then it has switched from being a reminder of Christs sacrifice into an idol that is getting more attention than God, and God says that no idolater will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So its something to be aware of. Remember that an idol would be anything that you place in your affections before God. It could be your car, your money, your job, your wife or husband etc. This takes us back to commandment #1. "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before Me.".
#8. History shows us many of the terrible things done in the name of "religion" or even "Christianity". Things such as the crusades like you mentioned are prime examples. You can look at such instances and see how placing a specific cause beneath the banner of "God" and disguising it suddenly gives it some sort of credibility. If you have ever seen the movie "Kingdom of Heaven", it gives a good example of religion being used as a means of power for corruption. Things may have been done in the name of Christianity but that certainly does not mean that those people were Christians, which is obvious when you compare such conduct to what the Bible says of how a follower of Christ is to act. The Bible says that no murderer will enter the kingdom of Heaven, so a Christian certainly doesn't hold onto a murderous nature. God changes our nature, which is actually called being "born again". Sounds strange perhaps, but what it means is that because you have surrendered your old nature that loved to lie, steal, cheat, commit adultery, dishonour parents etc.. God will give you a new heart with new desires. A heart of flesh for a heart of stone.(Ezekiel 36:26) In fact Jesus said that if you are guilty of hating someone then you ARE a murderer in Gods eyes. So that raises the bar doesn't it?
#9. Jesus certainly instructed us to love even our enemies, even if its difficult sometimes. There is always the temptation to strike back in some sort of hurtful way. As for the prominent leaders that you referred to I would have to know what was done to understand what you meant exactly. Its obvious that Christians as well as non-Christians make mistakes, and that repentance is necessary afterwards(no excuses I assure you). However if a professing "Christian" does not repent and does not seek to change this but heartily continues on doing the same thing, then that certainly needs to be addressed by other Christians around them. As for forgiveness, this is also non-negotiable. The offended party must forgive. (Matthew 6:14-15) So that doesn't mean its suddenly wiped from your memory, but its releasing that person to God and allowing Him to deal with them in His time(whether thats on earth or ultimately on judgment day-whenever that person dies), rather than planning your own vengence, or holding onto that offence. Sometimes easier said than done, but a Christian must trust God and ask Him to help them with it.
#10. This last question made me chuckle a little bit when you said "How is that freedom of choice when it is the same thing as a gun to your head?". I could hear an exasperated tone. Anyways....to the question. We just need to clarify that if a person is to be "Saved" and go to Heaven, its not an intellectual assent to the existence of God. That person must recognize that they deserve Hell because of their infinite offense agains an infinitely Holy God and then throw themselves upon the Mercy of God which is through repentance, and faith in Jesus Christ to save them from the wrath to come. No amount of "goodness" makes up for sin. This is why Gods Law is so important because when we realize that we are lawbreakers then obviously punishment is due. Just like in our court systems.. if a criminal is brought before the judge and the evidence is there of his guilt, then the Judge, if he is good, will see to it that justice is served. The same is with God. He will not let a guilty criminal go unpunished. That happens to be you and I. Justice will be served when we stand before Him. So we MUST humble ourselves and cry out for mercy. People will not flee from danger unless they see it headed their way.
So again it is sin that will cause someone to be cast into Hell. So you do have a choice, you can either humble yourself, repent(forsake your sin), and seek mercy through complete surrender to God.....or choose to spit on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, rejecting mercy, accepting Hell, all because you love your sin so much. You remain a slave to sin, and you will reap death... its only fair for a judge to punish the guilty. Don't let anyone elses hypocrisy stop you from considering this INCREDIBLE gift of everlasting life. The point is not to come to Jesus Christ out of fear, although thats leads you to think about it, but it must be out of a humble heart that says "Im guilty, and desperately need forgiveness.". The longer you wait is such a gamble. Its playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun, because once someone dies its TOO LATE! So who knows when they will die? Don't let that be you. Dont' let anything stop you from considering Gods gift that we ABSOLUTELY do not deserve. Listen to the voice of your conscience. Guilty or Innocent. If we are honest with ourselves we find ourselves to be guilty.
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